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The next “Little Big Man”: Nairo Quintana

Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco (Tour of the Basque Country) 2013 edition has been won by Movistar Team’s young Colombian Nairo Quintana. Quintana finished in second the last Time Trial stage, just seventeen seconds behind the twice UCI Time Trial champion Tony Martin of Omega Pharma-Quick Step. Quintana also won Stage 4 of the Spanish event.

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) time trialing at Vuelta al Pais Vasco 2013

He said that after winning the general classification (from Movistar’s web site): “I’m super happy with this victory and this time trial, that went quite better than I expected. I was fighting for such a victory since Paris-Nice, felt really good all these days and was able to confirm today that good feeling on the road. It was quite a good parcours for me: it had flat sections, where I don’t do bad at all, also some slopes and several turns – as it was also a short TT, it suited me well. We rode with calmness and confidence, distributing my strength equally over the course, and it went well. The roads were slippery and we had to take some risks into the descents; actually, I was close to crashing once, but at the final descent, I already knew I had a good gap and could take things easier.

“It’s my first victory in such a big race – it’s something wonderful, it makes me really happy. I don’t know yet how far I can reach: I’m relatively young and we’re yet to see how my body progresses. I thank and dedicate it my team, my teammates both as assistants, technicians and Eusebio Unzue, for caring, for taking forward in difficult times and always have the confidence in me. This victory is for all of them and for the fans who support us in Colombia and around the world. Know that I and my compatriots are giving good image to the world makes us proud.”

Who is Nairo Quintana?

His full name is Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas. He was born in born 4 February 1990 in Boyacá department of Colombia. He is small, a pure climber, 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) and 61 kg (130 lb). He first drew attention in 2012, when he took a prestigious victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné. He sparked a counter-attack after a select group of riders including leader Bradley Wiggins reached the last escapee of the day. He held on to his solo lead in the descent leading to Morzine.

I first watched him during the Vuelta a España 2012, he was working for Alejandro Valverde, and I am impressed with his climbing ability. And today’s Time Trial stage in Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco showed us he can also time-trial.

There are a lot of interesting information about him on the article. For example: Nairo has used some of his earnings in Europe to sponsor the team that first signed him. Because of that, the team is now called Boyacá-Nairo Quintana.